Wang Huning: key advisor to three Chinese presidents

Wang Huning, a key advisor to three Chinese presidents, including Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping, was born in Shanghai into a family of revolutionaries. His parents, who fought in the Red Army during the civil war, settled in Shanghai after the Communists captured the city in 1949. Wang spent his adolescence at home, devoting himself to reading and believing that knowledge was the key to salvation.

After completing secondary school in 1972, he worked part-time in rural districts of Shanghai and later studied at Shanghai University, where he earned a Master's degree in international politics in 1981. Known for his emphasis on "strategic centralism" as a prerequisite for economic modernization, Wang's academic work reflected his belief in the importance of a strong, stable central authority in guiding a developing country through rapid economic transformation.